My Grandfathers Keris

[KellykellyDonovan]

I have inherited a really interesting Keris. He thought it was a Pygmy sword. I have asked the site KerisCollection in Bali says it’s likely 17th century Keleng Pamor sinom weleng kekek, and a place I emailed in Holland said it’s a Sinom Waro Wari. Idk much about them so any insight would be appreciated. It’s been in my family approx 70 years now.

[A. G. Maisey]

Kelly, this is in my opinion a very good question that you have submitted, it can teach quite a lot.

It is important to understand that when we are dealing with the keris, a multitude of various “truths” can exist, there is no universal “truth” unless that truth is kept to a simplistic minimum.

Something else that must be understood is that the Javanese language is multi level, & the level used depends upon the hierarchical level of the speaker & the person spoken to; not only that, but the Javanese language can use multiple spellings if written, and multiple inflections if spoken, thus everything depends upon context. Apart from that, linguists consider that the Javanese language is a non-standardised language, something that I personally think of as the “Humpty Dumpty”syndrome:- “when I use a word, it means just what I intend it to mean, neither more nor less”--- something like that, anyway.

So let’s look at the information you have so far been given.

One informant has given you this:-

“---17th century Keleng Pamor sinom weleng kekek, ---”

This is a description & brought into English the words mean:-

Pamor -- in the context of keris, “pamor” refers to the blade material used to cover the hard steel core of the blade, very often this pamor is made of contrasting ferric material or of iron containing nickel, & the result is that the appearance of the blade presents a contrast in colours & perhaps textures; sometimes pattern welding might be used to create various motifs which can be read as having talismanic attributes. The pamor in your blade appears to be of iron without contrast, this type of pamor is named as “keleng”.

Sinom – the formal meaning of this word is that it is a form of Javanese verse, but in the context of the keris, it refers to a keris blade pattern that possesses certain defined characteristics.

Weleng – I believe this is either a misspelling or a local pronunciation of the word “weling”, I do not know a word “weleng”in Indonesian, Javanese or Balinese, alternatively it could be a typo, or an incorrect rendering of “keleng”. However, if it is to be read as “weling”, that fits with the following word “kekek”, which is an incorrect, or local variation of “kakek”, & that word means “grandfather”, and in Indonesian, & also low Javanese, “weling kakek” can be understood as “grandfather’s last will & testament”
So now we can guess at what this informant might have wanted to say.

Your other informant gave you this :-
“-- Sinom Waro Wari – “

Again, this informant believes this to be a keris of the form or dhapur, “sinom”.

The Surakarta pakem of dhapur (Surakarta is city/kraton, pakem is guidebook, dhapur is keris form) does provide a dhapur named “sinom wora wari” (NB—not waro wari these words have a totally different meaning & are not a part of the dhapur name), regrettably your keris does not conform to the parameters of this dhapur, it does conform in part, but it is well outside the applicable parameters, & in fact there is no exact match for this particular keris of yours in the Surakarta Pakem, nor any of the other sources of which I know. So, in Surakarta, we would think of this keris as being “di luar pakem”, that is outside the parameters.

Now I’ll give you my opinion.
The blade of this keris conforms in large part to the form of a Surakarta keris, the upright shape of the blumbangan, the shape of the rondha, the overall form (pawakan) support this. I am not willing to name any recognised dhapur for this keris, the pamor appears to be keleng, but if the blade were to be cleaned & stained I could perhaps change this opinion.
I cannot place this blade in the 17th century, in my opinion it is probably best dated as “pre- 20th century”, in the hand this opinion could change.

The scabbard is a formal one, a ladrangan, the pendok (metal cover ) is a blewah style, so:- warangka (or wrongko) ladrangan blewah.

The hilt (jejeran) is a Central Javanese form that in English we call a “planar” hilt, it is most likely a Surakarta/Solo style & of sub-type yudowinatan, but I would need it in my hand to be absolutely certain of this. There should be a little ornamental ring, usually of metal, between the bottom of the hilt & the blade, this is called a mendak & it is missing.

Altogether it is a pretty nice old keris, not of high quality, but certainly absolutely old & genuine, & at the present time, things like this are not easy to find. It does need a bit of TLC but it could be restored to something pretty nice that somebody in the future might want to preserve.

[Jayaningkurnia]

As a whole I agree the keris follows gagrak/general form of Surakarta (and accordingly 'clothed' in Surakarta-style ladrang blewah sheathe and handle). Indeed in present condition (at face value) it seems to be kelengan (no pamor contrast) but as Alan says, it might not be the case once the blade is stained (it might be pamor adeg/mrambut, i.e. like fine hairs). kudos to your family for keeping the blade in good condition.

Alan, may I know why you think the keris does not conform to the Surakarta's pakem on dhapur sinom or sinom wora-wari? is it the jenggot?

[A. G. Maisey]

I'm away from home at the moment, in a few days, after I get back, I'll post photos & then it will be clear why it is outside the parameters of the Surakarta pakem.

[A. G. Maisey]

Look carefully at the details, the jenggot is obvious, the remnant rondha nunut is quite eroded, these things might have been added after the blade had been completed. Just little things, but if it strays from the pakem, that puts it diluar pakem, however, I must emphasize that I'm only talking Surakarta Pakem, it might very well qualify for a different name if in accordance with some other pakem.

The Surakarta is these days taken as the gold standard, but if we go through that pakem very carefully & compare with present day more or less generally held beliefs, there are a number of places where we cannot find agreement with the Surakarta Pakem.

[Jayaningkurnia]

Thank you Alan for the explanation (and the reference image - if I recall correctly these would be from the book released by Damartaji group of Surakarta citing KGPH Hadiwijaya as the source).

Thanks for pointing out the possible remnants of greneng sungsun/ron dha nunut. Curious that it has eroded like so while the remaining greneng are in such good shape.

@KellykellyDonovan, to give more context, a keris is made up of various components ('ricikan') that varies for each 'dhapur'/design.

Known codification and standardisation of these designs (i.e. which dhapur should have which ricikan, but also the overall shape of the blade and each ricikan themselves) took place in the late 18th-19th century in the Javanese courts of Surakarta (thus the pakem/standard of Surakarta), but also in other courts, most notably Yogyakarta (a 'rival' court), and to a lesser extent Mangkunegaran and more recently Pakualaman courts which are principalities (instead of sultanates). That said, the overall shape changes/varies across the various reigning sovereigns at each court, though the ricikan seems to be quite consistent.

The process of "nangguh" (i.e. the art of gestimating when and where a keris was made) involves close examination of the blade material, shape, and these ricikan (with each 'era' or sometimes empu/master keris-maker associated with certain material/design/workmanship). Problematically, the copying ('mutrani'/making a son of) old and esteemed kerises is a rather common practice even in the past (at least from the Majapahit era/14th century). Also, it is very difficult to do carbon-dating of metals (there's some methods for iron, but I think it involves damaging the item itself). As such it is almost impossible to accurately date an old keris (perhaps except for those still kept by the Javanese courts and old nobilities, with clear provenance back to when it was first made).

To clarify on my previous point re: the keris you shared seems to follow gagrag/style of Surakarta, I was referring to:
- the anggodong pohung (cassava-leaf) shape of the blade,
- the shape of the keris' bottom (the term 'mbokong semar'/like the bottom of Semar, a wayang/shadow puppet character - you can Google him)
- the shape of the pejetan/blumbangan
- condong leleh (i.e. how the blade sit on the handle), etc.
which are commonly associated with a Javanese keris that follows Surakarta's design style.

Interestingly, in a book published in late 2023 by Yogyakarta's Cultural Office (dinas kebudayaan) together with Pametri Wiji (a keris enthusiast group there) on Dhapur Keris Gagrag Yogyakarta, a dhapur Sinom Wora-Wari is pictured with jenggot and greneng sungsun (picture attached). It is not known whether the book takes reference from "official" sources in the court of Yogyakarta or more of a compilation of widely-held belief/consensus among keris enthusiasts there.